ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Haibat al-Halbousi, a senior member of the Sunni Taqadum Party, was elected as the new speaker of the Iraqi parliament during the newly-elected legislature’s first session on Monday.

Halbousi's candidacy was not initially a unanimous decision among the Sunni forces. Azm Alliance, another top Sunni party, opposed Halbousi’s nomination, fielding instead its leader Muthanna al-Samarrai following a tense meeting of the Sunni National Political Council on Sunday evening.

Nonetheless, Samarrai's opposition did not continue for long, as he announced his withdrawal from the race during the parliamentary session and voiced his endorsement for Halbousi.

Halbousi was elected by the majority of the representatives of the parliament, besting Sunni Sovereignty Alliance MP Salem al-Issawi and Amer Abdul Jabbar, a lawmaker from a Shiite opposition bloc.

Halbousi is one of the founding members of the Taqadum Party. He follows the footsteps of his cousin and Taqadum leader, Mohammed al-Halbousi, who served as speaker of parliament from 2018 until 2023 when he was ousted from the post over forgery charges.

The Taqadum Party and its coalitions won the most seats among Sunni blocs in the November elections. The new parliament speaker received the highest number of votes in Anbar province in the November polls, with over 51,000 ballots cast in his favor.

Halbousi was born in 1980 and holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad.

He previously served as chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Oil, Energy, and Natural Resources during the previous two terms of the legislature.

Within 30 days of the first session, the parliament must also elect a president for the country, which is reserved for Kurds, who would in turn name a prime minister-designate, selected by the largest parliamentary bloc, and task them with the formation of the Council of Ministers within fifteen days.

The prime minister-designate would need to be replaced by the president if the cabinet fails to be formed in a timely manner.